Hinge



G. W. ALDEEN HINGE Filed Jan. 29, 1950 lnvenir Glade? CU kcflldeen.

we mam Patented Mar. 14, 1933 stares Lenora NT @i WQE GEDGR W. ALBEEN, 0F ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, AS SIGNOR T0 AMERICAN CABINET HARD- WARE CORP, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, A COR-PORATIGN 01E ILLINOIS HINGE Application filed January 29, 1930. Serial No. azaiea.

The invention relates to hinges particularly adapted for use 111 connection with certain types of furniture, such as drop-leaf tables or the like, and has as its general aim 5 the provision of a new and improved hinge which is simple in constructiommay be easily incorporated as a part of the articleof furniture, and may be cheaply manufactured.

In the production of drop-leaf tables cer- 13 tain manufacturing problems must be over-' come, particularly in connection with the hinged mounting of, the movable leavesof an arcuate bead-receiving recess in the other i =3 part. i

It is considered essential in such constructions that the exposed edges of the two parts be in close abutment substantially to elimi nate any crack therebetween, when the leaves a are in either raised or lowered position. Heretofore, this result has been capable of attainment only by recessing or mortising the parts to receive the hinge members in order to position the pivotal axis of the hinge faces to which the hinge is attached. How- 7 ever, by such mortisin e, the table, as a whole, and particularly the edge which is headed, is materially weakened and a further result .5 ing disadvantage is that the mortising step capable of maintaining the matingedges of complementary arcuate surfaces in tially close abutment.

substan- More specifically, the'invention contemplates, as an object, the provision of a hinge! in winch the pivotal ,iLXlS is located substansubstantially in the plane of one of the sun tially in the plane of the surface to which] it isattached and in which the pivotal axis thereof has a movement oftranslation in said plane from, one point to another during the relative movements of the hinge parts. v The invention overcomes another produc-. tion difficulty arislng from the-practice of.

shipping furniture of this nature in disassembled or knocked down That is, when the retailer or dealer receives a drop-leaf table the leaves are detached and separate from the top. Consequently, considerable care and skill is required in order that the leaves be mounted in proper; relation on the top.f It. is, therefore, an. object of the invention to provide anew andim proved hinge in which the hinge members are separable so that each member maybe secured to the top or leaves in proper relation and maybe assembled by relative lateral movement of the topand leaves, other means being provided to prevent separation thereofafter assembly.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a hinge in which a por tion of the surface to which the hinge is secured serves as a part of the 'pintle-receiving member of the hinge.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hinge comprising-two hinge sec tions or members formed-as complements of condition. so

each other, each of which members are capable of being fashioned from ordinary sheet,

metal stock by a single die stamping opera.-

tion.'

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following description and from the accompanying drawing, which: 7

Figure 1 is a plan view on a diminished scale of the lower surface of a drop-leaf table showing hinges embodying the [invention mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a separated plan view of one of said" hinges. Y

Fig. 8 is aside elevation of the hinge as seen when looking downwardly from the top of Fig. 1. V

'Figzt is a view similar toFig. 3'but showin no ing the hinge members in another position.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of hinge.

Broadly, the invention contemplates a twopart hinge, each part of which may be fashioned from ordinary sheet metal stock by a single die stamping operation. One of said parts, or hinge members, 1s bent to form U a substantially U-shaped socket having an open side,'whicl1, when the part is attached to the'furniture, abuts and is closed by a portion of the surface of said furniture. other of said hinge members includes a part fashioned as a pintle engageable with said socket by a relative transverse movement of the hinge members.

: The socket and the pintle are formed to provide an abutting holding engagement in two different positions of said hinge members, thus confining the movementrof said .members between two limits.-

Another part i of the pintle is shaped-to rock over the per- 'tion'of the surface of the furniture, which closes the open side of the socket, thus producing a translation of movement of the pivotal axis of the hinge from one point to another Withinthe socket. The hinge members are further provided with. stop members which are operative at the limitsdefined by the'engagements between the pintle and the socket. I

Particularly describing the present invention, the hinge-has been shown as used in connecting one of the leaves 10 of a drop-leaf table tothe top 11 thereof. This form of furniture is arbitrarily chosen and it is not intended to limit the invention thereby. As may be seen clearly in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the particular type of drop-leaf table construction illustrated herein includes a laterally extending arcuately shaped bead 12 formed upon one of the table parts, in this instance,

the top 11, which head is received in a complcmentary arcuately'shaped recess 13pmvided in the meeting edge of the other part.

Usually the head is somewhat longer than it i is thick so that the arcuate surface thereof 7 is not formed on a true are of a circle.

The hinge, as has been mentioned,"v is formed in two parts comprising a socket presenting hinge member 14 and a pintle carrystantially Ursh'aped socket 21.

7 ing hinge member 15 (Fig. 2). I The socket presenting member 14 is in the form of a flat plate having suitable apertures16 therein, through which screws 1? may pass to secure themember in place. One corner portion of the plate is'cut awayto provide ajrecess 18 and the uncut portion of the plate is bent-outwardly and thence inwardly to provide the opposite sides 19 and 20 (Fig. 5) of a sub- The open side of the socket, when the plate is secured The of the socket 21.

adapted to be secured to'and carried by the leaf 10 which is hingedly connected to the top. The member 15 is in the form of a plate arranged to be secured by screws 17 to the leaf near the adjacent meeting edge of the leaf so'that a portion of said plate extends beyond said edge.

' This portion has an elongated transversely extending recess formed therein, the depth of which is substantially equal to the length That part'of the plate intermediate the recess and the end of the plate constitutesa pintle 26 receivable in the socket 21 and the preferred arrangement is such that when the pintle engages the socket, the

side margins of the plates 14 and 15 are in substantial alinement.

In order to permit relative rotational movement of-the pintle in the socket, the per tion of the plate 15 which comprises a continuation 26 of the pintle 26 is bent outwardly from-the plane of the plate 15 to position the face-of the pintle in angular relationship to the plane of the plate. This relationship will be determined by the charactor of the socket which is provided on the member 14. Thus, an example, the present illustration embodies a socket in which the sides 19 and 20 extend at substantially right angles to. each other. The pintle, in such a case, extends at substantially 45 to the plane of the plate 15 so that when the pintle engages the socket, and the members 1 1 and 15 are in the same plane, the face of the pintle abuts the nearer side of the socket, l

in this instance the side 20. It will be seen, therefore, that when t 1e hinge members lei and 15 are relatively moved. to assume po sition substantially at'right angles to each other, the pintle 26 will move from its abutting position against the socket side 20 to a s milar abutting engagement with the opposite socket side 19. Consequently, the pintle moves from one side of the socket to the other and determines, through its abutting engagement with one or the other sides, the extreme limits of relative movement of the hinge members 1 1 and .15.

This movement. therefore, may be termed a movement of translation'ofthe pintle from one point to another within the socket.

. In order that the hinge may turn smoothly,

and further to insure the proper positioning of the pintle within the socketat all times,

pintle is so formed that the side margins of the pintle, during the relative movement of said members intermediate the two limits of movement, will be 'held in sliding engagement with the sides of the socket. To this end, the width of the opposite sides of the socket and the width of the flat face of the pintle are substantially equal. vAs a result of this construction, the side edges of the pintle are always in engagement with the surfaces of the sockets during the relative swinging movement of the members, all looseness or play between the parts is thereby eliminated and the pintle will move smoothly from one point to anotherwithin the socket.

that a hinge has been provided which is capable of maintaining a close abutting relationship between the meeting edges of the two members whicharehingedly connected thereby. This is especially evident (referring to Figs. 3 and 1) if the complementary interfitting parts are formed on an are other than a true are of a circle. In such a case, the transitory movement of the pintle during the movement of the members from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig.4 shifts or carries the hinged table members inwards ly so that the meeting edges of the members in both positions thereof substantially abut to eliminate cracks therebetween.

Preferably, auxiliary stop means are provided for supplementing the limiting engage ment of the pintle with the socketmembers, since otherwise the pintle might accidentally be bent out'of its normal operating position. To this end, the margin of the plate 15 adjacent the recess 25 andopposite the pintle 26 is offset outwardly, as at 28, to provide a flange positioned to overlieand abut the flat outer end 23 of the plate 14 when the hinge members are engaged and are in sub-,

stantially the same plane. This abutting engagement of the parts 23 and 28 reinforces the limiting engagement of the pintle and socket when the pintle is-in :abutment with the socket side 20. g

The auxiliary stop, for limiting the relative movement of the hinge members in the other direction, comprises a lug 29 extending outwardly from the continuing portion 26 of the pintle. The lug 29 is arranged to move into overlying and abutting engagement with the outer surface of the plate 14 adjacent the recess 18 when the hinge members move to the position shown in Fig. 1. If desired, a reinforcing boss 30 may be provide to strengthen this part of the hinge.

That the hinge, which. has just been described, is well adapted. for use where it is desired to ship-the article of furniture in disassembled or knocked down condition is evident; Thus, taking the drop-leaf table, as

an example, the "manufacturer assembles the table complete at the manufacturing plant. In this way, the proper position ofthe dropleaf relative to the table top is accuratedly and permanently determined by the skilled workmen .in the manufacturing plant. This havlngbeen done, it is only necessary to move the table leaf'laterally with respect to the top, whereupon the pintles slide out of engagement with the sockets and the table leaf is free to be packed separately.

Subsequently, when the furniture dealer is unpacking and assembling the table, itisonly necessary to reengage the hinge membersby a simple lateral movement in order to mount I theleaf on the top. In order to prevent accidental lateral movementof the hinge mem- From the foregoing, it will be apparent bers, a stop means is provided which normally holds the hinge members against "the disengaging lateral movement but may be readily moved to an-out-of the-way position to permit said disengagement.

A preferred formof stop'meansis shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as comprising aflat bar 31 having anelongated, longitudinally "extending aperture, 32 therein. One end of the apertureis countersunk, as at33, to receive the head of a screw3 1 which extends through the aperture to secure the-member to the top. The remaining portion of the aperture is of ample width to sl-idingly receive the shank of the screw. The end of'the bar, opposite the countersunk-part of the recess, is bent to providean arcuate boss 35. y

In use, the baris secured, by the screw 34, substantially in abutting engagementwith the side of the hinge member 14 opposite the socket, in such manner that when the head vof the screw 34 is in engagement with the countersunk portion 33 of the elongated slot 32, the boss 35(see Fig. 1) is positioned adjacent the upturned portion 26 on the hinge member 15. This abutting engagement prevents lateral movement of the hinge members tion@ Consequently, in permanently assembling the drop leaves on the table top, it is only necessaryfor the dealer to slide the bar 31 into itsnormal position and tighten the screw34. f

Referring to the modified form of hinge shown in Fig. '6, the essential parts of the hinge are substantially the same. In this instance, however, the pintle is formed substantiallycentrally of the hinge member by providing an elongated transversely extending aperture 36 in the plate. This positions the pintle 37 intermediate the sides of the same manner as the angular stop lug 29 in the first described form. In effect, therefore, the modified form embodies theprinciples of the hinge shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive,

with the addition of a second stop member for limiting the movement of the hinge members into the relative angular positions In this modification, relative lateral move ment of the hinge membersl'e'and 15 is not possible. Therefore,-in preparing-the :table for disassembled shipment, themanufacturer place and marks or provides screw holes designating the proper position of the hinge member 14. In assembling, the dealerneed only insert the end 23 of the hinge member 1a underneath the flange 28 andthen secure the platel in the designated position. 'Or,

i if desired, the screws holding the socket plate 14 may be merely loosened to allow the free end of the socket to move-away from the table face far enough to permit insertion of the pintle, after which. the. screws may be tightened. p r

' It will be apparent from the foregoing that a simple hinge has been provided which is well adapted for use inconnection with drop leaf tables, or similar articlesvof'furniture, andwhich is of such similar construction that each part of the hinge may be fashioned by a I fsurfaces of two parts to be connectedcomprising, in combination, a U-shaped socket member having an open side secured to one of and parts with the open slde 1n abutment with the surface, thereof, and asecond memher having a pintle thereon secured to the otherof said parts, said rpintle having a curved surface in rocking engagement with. said socket abutting surface and belng 11'.-

regular in cross section for spaced engage- -ment with opposedportions of said'socket member, I V 2. A hinge adapted to be secured to the enclosing said pintle having an open, side abutting the surface engagedby said pintle, said socket having engagement with said pintleto hold said pintle against said surface whereby the pivotal axis of said hinge is confined to "the plane of the surface of said parts 3. A hinge comprising, in combination, a hinge member presenting a substantially U-shaped portion thereon having an open side adapted to be closed by the surface to which said member is secured, said portion being fashioned so that opposed sides thereof and said closing surface constitute a substantially triangular socket, and a second hinge member. having a pintle receivable in said socket, said pintleh aving a flat face arranged to abut oneor the other of two sides of said triangle, and having an arcuate surface rockable over the third'side during the movement offsaid flat face.

hA hinge comprising, in combination, a-

hinge member having a socket thereon, a second hin e member having a pintle thereon permanently secures the hingemember 15 in en a eable with said socket u on relative lateral movement of said hinge members, and

means on said socket carrying part arranged to engage said pintle carrying member to prevent endwis-e movement of the partsout of engagement.

5. A hinge for pivotally connecting two parts comprising, in combination, a hinge member secured to one of said parts having a socket thereon, a second hinge member on the other ofsaid par-ts having apint-le thereon engageable'with said socket upon relative lateral movement of said parts, and a stop member secured to said socket carryingpart positioned to engageithe side of said pintle carrying member away from said socket to prevent lateral movementthereof out of en-' 'gagement with said socket.

6. A hinge adapted to be secured to the surfaces of two parts to be connected comprising, in combination, a socket member adapted to be secured to the uncut surface of one partwithin the margins of said part, a

pintle member adapted to be secured to the uncut surface of the other part for engagement-with said socket member, and means for confiningthe axis of pivotal movement of the membersto the plane of the surface of one of the parts.

. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto aflixed my signature. GEDOR- W. ALDEEN.

surfaces of two parts to be connected com+ prising, .in combination,ja pintle secured to one of said parts in overlying relation to the V second part, said pintle having an arcuate facejthereon adaptedto rock over the surface i 

